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November 7, 2009

How to sync data between your computing devices

How to get PCs, Macs and mobile devices to talk to each other

David Murphy

Working on the go means you probably use a number of different devices every day, from a desktop PC, to a laptop and smartphone. However, it can be hard getting the various products to talk to each other. We show you the three easiest ways to sync your computers and mobile devices.

Working on the go means you probably use a number of different devices every day, from a desktop PC, to a laptop and smartphone.

The hard part is getting the various products to talk to each other. You may store your business files on your work computer and your personal files on your home laptop.

Your mobile phone may be the hub of your social life, but that means nothing when you surf the web on a Mac. You'd like to watch movies on this system while you work, but they're stored on a Windows-based computer elsewhere in your apartment.

Sure, you can use removable media to transfer files, but the process is slow, you have to keep the media on hand in order to access files, and the cost of scratching a disc, losing a flash drive, or dropping a portable hard drive is high.

In the case of frequently updated files, you have to run back to your host system to copy new material. And of course you can't do anything by phone.

The solution to this problem of data creep is synchronisation. Lots of free applications and utilities can ease your multidevice lifestyle by keeping your critical files up-to-date and accessible to all of your deskbound or mobile systems.

The result is a smooth, seamless (and free) process for ensuring access to the latest versions of much-needed files.

The underlying synchronisation philosophy is the same, but different devices have different foibles that affect your ability to sync them easily.

With that in mind, we'll focus on three different types of synchronisation: PC to PC, PC to Mac, and PC to mobile device.

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